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Come to Rio, Ready to Commit - 12 Jun 2012

I have been in Rio de Janeiro for a week to oversee the last phase of the preparations for the Rio+20 Conference. On Tuesday, 5 June, I attended the flag-raising ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Brasilia, together with President Rouseff and senior officials of the federal government, members of the Congress, business and civil society representatives, including representatives of indigenous communities. Simultaneously, in Rio, Secretariat representatives also participated in the flag-raising ceremony at RioCentro.

The event represents a milestone in the close cooperation between the United Nations and the Government and People of Brazil. The venue in Brasilia also bears testimony to the highest commitment of the Government of Brazil to Rio+20 and to sustainable development. It was a very touching moment to see the UN flag wave side by side with the flag of Brazil. The Secretariat was extremely pleased to receive the venue in Conference-ready condition.

In the meantime, accreditations started at RioCentro. The first week saw thousands of badges issued to participants, including some 3500 members of the media. Close to 20,000 Major Group representatives have been pre-registered. As the official meetings get underway, the total number of participants is going to rise. Some 130 Heads of State and Government have been inscribed to address the plenary meetings.

Tomorrow, the Third Session of the Preparatory Committee will start, marking the final sprint to the finalization of the official outcome document. Two weeks ago, we had an intense week of negotiations in New York. We saw real progress. And, I don’t actually mean in the number of paragraphs that were agreed. Rather, it is in the way that delegations discussed and clarified issues and showed flexibility.

Most important, we all witnessed a shared commitment to a successful outcome of Rio+20 and to doing our part for a sustainable future. I am cautiously optimistic that we will have a forward-looking document that charts the way to sustainable development, for years to come. Yet, we must drastically accelerate the pace of negotiations. We only have three days of negotiations --three make-it or break-it days.

Now is the time to look at the big picture and to focus on key deliverables. A big responsibility is on our shoulders. The whole world is watching. We simply cannot afford to falter. At the last informals in New York, I also shared with delegations my personal perspectives on the deliverables. These include:

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
• Forward-looking decisions on strengthening Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development;
• Decisions on sharing experiences and knowledge of green economy policy options, as tools to advance sustainable development and poverty eradication; and
• Action-oriented outcomes in areas such as energy, water, food security, oceans, cities, women’s empowerment, education and others.

I also stressed that we need to make further progress on the means of implementation. And we must ensure that the Framework for Action is not merely a document that looks good on paper. We must implement our commitments.

A key driver that I have been highlighting throughout the preparatory process is the importance of strong engagement from all nine Major Groups. Only by working together can we achieve real results. Governments cannot do it alone, but neither can other stakeholders working in isolation. This is why at the end of the Conference I hope to see hundreds of voluntary commitments and initiatives by all stakeholders, including by Major Groups, which complement the official commitments.

Tomorrow, at the start of the PrepCom III, I will appeal to delegations to work together to achieve ambitious and historic outcomes. Let us deliver a vision and action framework that guides us to a future that honours all humanity on our one shared planet -our most profound common denominator.

To all participants coming to Rio de Janeiro, who are ready to commit, I extend a warm welcome.